Tuesday, August 15, 2017

During our 4D3N KL Trip, we stayed at White SoHo, The Scott Garden which located at Jalan Klang Lama, Kuala Lumpur. I have chosen this place since it is the most affordable one yet near to Bangsar South where I attended FA Advisory Mid Year Conference. This was the second time we booked through Airbnb since our last trip exactly a year ago at Regalia Residence.

It was our first time to stay or even visit to a SoHo Duplex since duplex is quite rare in Penang. Baby and I are quite fond of such duplex style, perhaps next time we should get ourselves one before having kids. The duplex SoHo with 20ft ceiling height is suitable for our own stay/office/home-office. It is big enough for two person but small enough to clean the whole house by ourselves. 😂

We booked our White SoHo from Suki, unfortunately she was not free to entertain us. Thankfully her helper, May, was friendly enough to guide us. May guided us to the carpark and handed us the key. Security of the building is good as you can only access the lobby door as well as the lift to your floor by using the designated access card.

Overall, I think the White SoHo of Suki was quite nice and cozy. All the necessities are available such as TV, fridge, cooking utensils, washing machine and even water dispenser! I have to compliment the availability of water dispenser as it saves our time to cook or even money to buy. Suki subscribed to HyppTV as well whereby there are plenty of TV channels for us to watch.

The bedroom upstairs is simple and nice. Baby likes the wallpaper as it gives a comfy feeling instead of just the normal blank wall. All is good but I would hope that there is electric wall socket next to the bed, even better if it comes with USB port for ease of charging phone! The bathroom with semi-transparent glass is quite kinky, but we love it! 😂

Looking out the nice big picture window to a great view of KL city was rather enjoyable especially when you just relaxing at home. It allows more of the natural sunlight and makes the living room more lively. Reading a book next to it would be a great thing to do!

During my stay, both of the day I was out for meeting and conference, so I didn't get to enjoy the facilities such as the swimming pool and gym. In the evening, baby and I just went to walk around to explore. It was unfortunate that Tesco no longer there, but you can get still get from mini-market or 7-11 (There's also Starbucks!) at the shop lot right below the SoHo. There are quite a lot of pubs at Scott Garden too, so I supposed staying high floors can only avoid those noises.

Anyhow, if you happened to visit KL and looking for a place to stay, head over to Airbnb and book White SoHo from Suki! Around RM100 a night is quite affordable in my opinion given that the SoHo is fully furnished!

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

During our 4D3N KL Trip, we drop-by Kellie's Castle at Batu Gajah after having our breakfast at Ming Court Hong Kong Dim Sum in Ipoh. Museum/historical place is not really our thing but since it was our first time and we just wanted to go somewhere we both have never been before.

Kellie's Castle - Not for the Faint-Hearted!

Since I used to be a licensed tour guide, I did learned a thing or two about Kellie's Castle. It was believed that William Kellie Smith actually built the castle out of love for his wife - Agnes, just like Taj Mahal where King Mughal Shah Jahan built it for the wife. So Kellie's Castle was supposed to be a romantic place. So why ended up it is haunted? Read on!

When you are visiting to Kellie's Castle, there is a bridge linking it from the entrance to the castle. Entrance fee is RM5 per adult, RM3 for children below 12 years old and RM4 for senior citizen above 60 years old. Meanwhile, for foreigners, the entrance fee would be RM10 per adult and RM8 per children below 12 years old. If you are interested to do pre-wedding photoshoot, you will be charged for RM50 per still camera.

Many would not know that the building that is seen from the roadside or entrance is actually not the main front-facing building. As you would noticed, there is not any front door or main entrance welcoming you to enter but rather a small path leading to a enter thru a side door.

Kellie's Castle consists of Scottish, Moorish, and Tamilvanan Indian architecture, which was believe to model the secretariat building of Kuala Lumpur. It was built with thick walls to insulate from the tropical heat and multiple passageway to aid the ventilation, which were crucial for his beloved wife and newborn son to get used to the weather after moving from Scotland.

Unfortunately, the construction of Kellie's Castle came to an abrupt halt with few incidents such as the broke out of epidemic "Spanish Flu" as well as his sudden death due to pneumonia when he was in Lisbon, Portugal to collect his "lift/elevator" for his Kellie's Castle. Agnes and the family was too heartbroken that they decided not to come back and sold it off.

The new owner, a British company called Harrisons and Crosfield, was never interested in the castle and so it was left half-completed until today. Over the time, rumors has it that it was haunted with the soul of the owner, William Kellie Smith, overlooking his estate. Some said that even at night, one would hear some noises or even see shadow of a human walking at the passageway.

Kellie's Castle deteriorated further during World War II where it was believed that the bombing of Japanese destroyed part of the castle. Only in the recent years, efforts have been made by the Perak state government to rescue such a priceless architecture.

Personally, I feel that the castle is similar to those western country where there is a river surrounding the castle to protect it from the intruders. It was claimed that there used to be crocodiles in the river back in the days too.

So do you think it is haunted?

Or a romantic place for Pre-Wedding Photoshoot?

Let me know in the comment below! Share with me if you have heard stories of it or even personally experience. Overall, we had a great time there, mainly taking photos. For me, I would prefer to believe in the romantic part, like how I wish I could be rich enough to build a castle for my family and the legacy to live on!

Monday, August 7, 2017

I bet everyone knows that Ipoh is famous for their Dim Sum, but guess what, it was my first time to try during our 4D3N KL Trip! So if you are same like me, probably you should try out the famous Ming Court Hong Kong Dim Sum which is located along Jalan Leong Sin Nam, Ipoh. We had our breakfast there and quite satisfied with what we ordered.

Ipoh Famous Dim Sum - Ming Court Hong Kong Dim Sum

We drop by Ipoh for breakfast on Wednesday morning during our trip to KL. We arrived at around 9 in the morning, Ming Court Hong Kong Dim Sum was already full of people as expected. But we were lucky as a kind elderly Samaritan told us they were leaving and we can take their table. What a good start for our day!

Honestly, I am not really a big fan of Hong Kong Dim Sum, so I don't even know what are their names! My Cantonese too fail that I can't communicate with the people there so we just pointed at those that we want. But not to worry, they carry all the different Dim Sum from table to table for you to choose, so you can just wait to be served!

We had most of the typical Hong Kong Dim Sum, namely, porridge, different type of dumpling, "Woo Kok" Yam Puff, black sesame soup and even chicken feet! For those who followed me closely would know that stewed chicken feet is the main thing I would order during Dim Sum breakfast! 😋

We love most of them, especially the Yam Puff which is totally different version from those in Penang. The diced meat filling inside the Yam Puff of Ming Court Hong Kong Dim Sum taste so much better. And of course the dumpling were amazing too!

Not all matched our taste bud though, we felt that those deep fried ones were too oily as the skin were soaked with oil like you can actually squeeze out those oil literally on the first bite. Maybe they were rushing and deep fried when the oil isn't hot enough. The other one - black sesame soup, we thought it was not as good as others claimed to be as it is too liquid to our liking.

Nevertheless, Ming Court Hong Kong Dim Sum still one of the best in Ipoh and attracted so many tourists and even the locals! During our breakfast there, a family of 3 actually asked if they could share the table with us ("tap toi" in Cantonese I think). Since just two of us, we would be more than willing, most importantly, we can follow what they ordered. 😆

Parking can be a headache if you go on a weekend or peak period. I went on weekday yet it was quite full so I ended up paying RM5 and park at the car park just right beside of Ming Court Hong Kong Dim Sum. So to avoid disappointment, either go super early or go during non-peak period. 😄

Saturday, July 29, 2017

One of the most trendy drinks in Malaysia in 2017 must be the cheese tea! This cheese tea trend was believed to be originated from China, which is highly acceptable and gone viral at every single outlet! Regiustea, being the pioneer of cheese tea, opened their 3rd outlet in Queensbay Mall, Penang on 29th of July 2017!

Grand Opening of Regiustea @ Queensbay Mall Penang

It may sounds weird at first, but the thick layer of frothy cream cheese on top of your favorite beverage will impress you with the surprisingly-matched combination. Thanks to the invitation, baby and I went for their private soft launching a day before the grand opening. We had the chance to try out some of their recommended drinks.

According to the information in their website, Regiustea handpicked ingredients from all around the world, starting from the Japanese Yugu authentic green tea, New Zealand cheese, French light cream, and together with the excellent origin Zun goods of the original tea. Regiustea ensures that not only the tea is tasty but the health of the customers are being taken care as well. In short, Regiustea believe that healthy drink can be delicious too!

Regiustea outlet at 3rd Floor of Queensbay Mall, which is located right next to Neway. It's easy to find as you will be easily attracted by the brightly lit signage of the shop. The shop structure is quite simple, make your order, pay at the counter and wait for your number. You may choose to drink it there as table and chairs are provided as well.

Each of the drinks you can customized according to your personal preference, such as amount of sugar and ice. Depending to your liking, extra toppings such as cheese, durian, orea, pearl and red bean can be added as well with small charges of RM1.50 to RM2.50.

Another specialty of Regiustea is that their cold tea are made by soaking tea leaves in cold water for eight hours (cold brewing method), which the cold water extracts slowly and selectively, hence less likely to produce the acid and caffeine. Fret not! You can still sleep soundly at night!

Baby ordered her favorite Ujimatcha Cheese (RM13.90) while I ordered White Peach Oolong Durian (RM13.90) for the sake of trying! Regiustea make it a rule that each cheese tea has a 80:20 proportion of tea to cheese. The best recommended way to drink it is to take off the plastic cover and drink without straws. A sticker on the lid also shown that it should be drink at a 45 degree angle so that you can taste the best of both worlds - the frothy cheese and tea!

Baby loves her Ujimatcha Cheese as both the ujimatcha and cheese compliment each other well, certainly a great thirst-quenching drink! Meanwhile, my White Peach Oolong Durian impressed me the most! According to the owner, the type of durian being used is the Malaysia famous king of durian - Musang King! That explains for the pungent smell, so it's either you love it or hate it. The part that wow-ed me the most is actually the sweetness from the durian is actually being balanced by the tea. So you won't feel "jelak" (dull) eating drinking the durian and probably less guilty too! 😂

Overall, I think it is good to give it a try especially if you are cheese lover or durian lover! I am sure that I will be back to try out some other of their drinks, particularly the Jasmine Greentea Cheese and the Regius Coffee. Go try it today as there will be Buy 1 Free 1 Promotion!

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Chicking is now in AmanJaya Mall, Sungai Petani! Same like me, probably you may not heard of Chicking but it is similar to KFC except this fast-growing fast food chain is from Dubai! Chicking is also one of the first and fully Halal compliant, international quick service restaurants (QSR) that serves customers globally with great tasting food!

Chicking - It's My Choice!

Currently Chicking has the outlets in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Kedah, still yet to come to Penang. Coincidentally Chicking just opened their new outlet in AmanJaya Mall, Sungai Petani. So when we were there for a short getaway, we decided to pay a visit to try out their chicken!

The first thing that caught our attention is actually the red color theme which is almost similar to KFC style. But by the name of "Chicking", I supposed it is meant for Chick King. One major difference is that Chicking serves grilled chicken instead of just the typical fried chicken.

Same as any fast food chain, it is self service style where you order and pick up your food at the counter. But unlike KFC, Chicking uses the separated counter, just like McDonald's, where the Order Counter and Pick Up Counter are separated. So you need to know what's your queue number.

We ordered 1 set of Grilled Chicken (2pcs) that came with fries, tortilla and soft drink, as well as 1 set of Mexican Grilled Wrap Combo which came with fries and soft drink. To be honest, I was quite disappointed that the Grilled Chicken was so much smaller compare to the "illustration" poster.

Nevertheless, I think that the Grilled Chicken was very well marinated with full fragrance of spices. Certainly good to try out if you are bored of the typical fried chicken. But luckily the tartar sauce was given, otherwise it could be quite dry to be eaten together with the tortilla wrap. Fries was okay but we still think McDonald's serves the best.

Meanwhile, the Mexican Grilled Wrap Combo was quite delicious as well. The chicken meat given were quite generous in portion and you definitely can taste it in every bite. This wrap is much better as the sauce was sufficient and tasty enough to make it mouth watering.

Overall I think Chicking could compete well in Malaysia market, but I would like to try their fried chicken someday too to see if it would be better than other fast food chain. Hopefully they will open one in Penang soon!